His leadership has been absolutely nonexistent. I wouldn't know he's there if he didn't have Kevin Powell running against him. He sure isn't perfect, but he's a helluva lot better than Ed Towns.

I remember Ed Towns. Isn't he the guy who comes up from Florida every other year to campaign for office? I guess he only does that when he's afraid of his job, which he owes to Roger Green (and to Roger Greene, too).

I think he's also the one paying for Rock's rent. Yup, Rock finally admitted that he's on Towns' paid staff. So the piece above is really campaign literature, paid for by Congressional Republicans' best friend in Brooklyn, Ed Towns.

If Rock is on Towns' payroll (and I'm not disputing that), he has a funny way of earning his paycheck. This piece isn't exactly nice to the Congressman.

Kevin Powell is not fit for Congress. He is an admitted woman beater. He has abused women, drugs, alcohol and lord knows what else. He isn't fit to be in Congress. I will never vote for him. If Rock is working for Ed Towns why would he write an article like this? Anyway he can work for whatever candidate he wants that is his right.

Regarding the wife beating: This is the official Ed Towns line, and it has been repeated by Rock, Errol Louis, and the whisperers in my neighborhood. For the record, Kevin Powell addresses his history bluntly and honestly, in my estimation. He has worked for years in the African-American community addressing domestic violence, and if you have any questions about it, talk to his campaign. This is not an issue he shies away from, and he recently sent out an open letter in response to this line of attack by the Ed Towns campaign.

Obviously, I don't like that Kevin Powell has this record, but I appreciate the way that he has dealt with it.

Now back to Rock, here is an extended quote from Room 8:
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/rock_hackshaw/so_that_you_know.html

posted by Rock Hackshaw
Mon, 07/21/2008 - 7:45pm
This is not a column. It is simply a notice being afforded to those who regularly read Room Eight New York Politics and the Daily Gotham. Both of these blogs publish most of my columns on a regular basis. In order to fully disclose where I am in this upcoming primary election, I will vet myself. I will let you all know the candidates who are running this year with whom I have regular conversations and such.

I am now a paid advisor to the Ed Towns re-election campaign. I am also an advisor to the Cenceria Edwards campaign (I haven’t been paid in this capacity as yet). Plus I am a quasi-advisor to the Kendall Stewart, Ken Evans and Marlene Tapper campaigns. They are all friends who call me regularly for advice from time to time. I have no contract signed with any of them (including the congressman), so these are informal arrangements at this moment.

Beyond this I have had conversations with Geoffrey Davis, Michele Adolphe and Rev. Leonard Hatter (James Archibald/ Stan Kinard) over the past couple months or so. I have shared e-mails with Jesse Hamilton (and one conversation recently), who has been on my e-mail list for years. I disclose all this because I don’t want people to see my writings as a political propaganda tool, nor do I want candidates to believe that I am hiding relationships. All of these people here are folks I have known for years and years and years. Furthermore, I am working with Eric Blackwell as he manages a candidate in a Long Island assembly race.

So much for full disclosure; stay tuned-in.

ADDENDUM: Anyone worth his or her salt in NYC politics knows that I have worked in this buisness for almost 35 years. The overwhelming majority of the time I do it for free. Ocassionally I choose to not go "pro-bono" and in that regard I will either collect a small fee or get my personal campaign expenses defrayed (like gas,transportation, food, out of pocket expenses etc.). In the past I have disclosed some of my associations on this blog. Once or twice I haven't -usually because the candidate asks me to withold that info. Many candidates don't care for the world to know that I am one of their advisors since they see me as a controversial political figure; something I am still trying to figure out/lol. This year I chose to do this because of the many phone calls and e-mails I was getting from people working the other side of some of the candidates I was in contact with. After 35 years, let me inform that my average from all these monies is less than one hundred dollars a month. Now go do the math. Politics has never been a hustle for. I am driven by my concerns and ideals.

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For more on this subject, including 30 comments, visit
Revisiting the 10th Congressional District: Ed Towns v. Kevin Powell
http://www.r8ny.com/blog/rock_hackshaw/revisiting_the_10th_congressional...

Rock can work for whoever he wants to. All through the years he has informed us of the candidates he worked with. Starting with C. Virginia Fields and ending with Ken Evans last time around. Respect the fact he never hid this from us. It is his choice. How many of you who post these comments are working for Kevin Powell? How many of you have disclosed this publicly? Rock Hackshaw is still the best political writer on the blogs. Case closed.

I do not work for any campaign, and I do appreciate if people mention their affiliations while posting. Several people do exactly that on Daily Gotham.

To bring the discussion back to the issues, JB, I hope you bother to look at the campaign websites. Towns's page mentions nothing about domestic violence, if that is important as it seems to you. Kevin Powell includes this on his platform:

"Gender Equality/Ending Violence Against Women

"* Roe v. Wade's guarantees of a woman's right to choose cannot be weakened.
"* We must dedicate ourselves to supporting strong anti-violence/anti-domestic violence initiatives that prevent violence against women and that support victims of domestic violence."

Ed Towns's Wikipedia page does not mention domestic violence, while the Kevin Powell's page say this:

"He has become a very outspoken critic of violence against women and girls, of violence in general, and he has been at the forefront of the movement to redefine American manhood away from sexism and violence."

Of course, these are partisan viewpoints, but it's good to see what the partisans are saying. As far as I can tell, Ed Towns never was concerned with domestic violence until they wanted to use it as a tool to discredit Kevin Powell.

I believe Rock Hackshaw was the first blogger in 2005, 2006 and 2007 to mention the candidates he affiliated with during the primaries. Shoot this is exactly what he did again this year. Can someone tell me what the issue is here? Are these Kevin Powell fanatics picking a fight they can't win? Rock Hackshaw is one of the most respected bloggers around these here parts..................................... NO DOUBT.